It is internally diseased.
I think there may be butter in the croutons. Do you know?
I'm afraid there may be.
You've made a cozy little nest here.
Seems to me you must be a well-contented man.
In my philosophy, Mr. Benn...
...a man cannot call himself well-contented...
...until he has done all he can...
...to be of service to his employer.
This assumes that one's employer...
...is a superior person not only in rank or wealth...
...but in moral stature.
And in your opinion, what's going on up there has "moral stature"?
I wish I could be sure.
But I'm not.
I've heard some very fishy things. Very fishy.
I hear nothing.
Listen.
That's so touching, isn't it?
To listen to the gentlemen would distract me from my work.
It's fresh soda.
Would you be joining us?
Thank you, but it's very late and I have an early start.
Good night.
-Good night, Mr. Stevens. -Good night, Miss Kenton.
Good-looking woman.
It was never the same after she left Stanton Lacey.
I handed in my own notice six months later.
I'd be lost without her.
A first-rate housekeeper is essential in a house like this...
...where great affairs are decided between these walls.
-Good morning. -My lord.
"We do the Jews no injustice when we say that the revelation of Christ...
... is something incomprehensible and hateful to them.
Though He apparently sprang from their midst...
...He embodies the negation of their whole nature.
The Jews are far more sensitive about this than we are.
This demonstration of the cleft that separates us Europeans from the Jew...
... is not given in order to let religious prejudice...
... with its dangerous bias, settle the matter...
...but because the perception of two fundamentally different natures...
...reveals a real gulf. "
We have some refugee girls on the staff now, I believe.
We do.
Two housemaids, Elsa and lrma.
You'll have to let them go, I'm afraid.
Let them go, my lord?
It's regrettable, but we have no choice.
You must see the whole thing in context.
I have the well-being of my guests to consider.
May I say...
...they work extremely well.
They're intelligent, polite and very clean.
I'm sorry, but I've looked into this matter very carefully.
There are larger issues at stake.
I'm sorry, but there it is.
They're Jews.
Yes, my lord.
I'm amazed you can stand there as if...
...you were discussing orders for the larder. I can't believe it!
Elsa and lrma are to be dismissed because they're Jewish?
His Lordship has decided. There's nothing for you and I to discuss.
Without work, they could be sent back to Germany.
It is out of our hands.
I tell you, if you dismiss my girls tomorrow, it will be wrong!
A sin, as any sin ever was one!
There are many things you and l don't understand in this world.
His Lordship understands fully and has studied the larger issues at stake...
...concerning, say...
...the nature of Jewry.
I warn you...
...if those girls go...
...l shall leave this house.
Please.
These references, I have to tell you...
...are quite reserved.
Why did you leave your last employment?
-They didn't want me anymore. -Why not?
I don't know.
They just didn't want me anymore.
They say she works well.
Would you please wait outside?
-She's unsuitable. -Not at all. I want her.
-She'll be under my supervision. -She's not suitable.
She'll do well. I'll see to it.
Well, then, it is entirely your responsibility.
Weren't you leaving because of the German girls?
I'm not leaving.
I've nowhere to go. I have no family.
I'm a coward.
Yes. I am a coward.
I'm frightened of leaving, and that's the truth.
All I see out in the world is loneliness, and it frightens me.
That's all my high principles are worth.
I'm ashamed of myself.
You mean a great deal to this house.
You're extremely important to this house.
Am l?
Now, look here...
...if you're really sure about this young woman, call her back in.
Miss Hull, we would like you to start next week.
You're responsible to Miss Kenton. She'll explain the house rules.
Number one: no gentlemen callers, or other such.
-Yes, sir. -Good.
-Welcome. -Thank you, sir.
Well done. I'll show you to your room.
I'd forgotten how much petrol the Daimler uses.
It's an impractical motor to be going about the country, Mister....
Smith. Harry Smith. It's a privilege to have you here in Moscombe.
-It's a privilege to be here. -Your health, sir.
Dr. Carlisle usually drops in around now. He'd enjoy meeting you.
He's a gentleman like yourself.
I don't know what you call a gentleman.
It's a name every man in this country has a right to.
There's Harry Smith now, giving you an earful of his philosophy.
We English...
...have the advantage and privilege of expressing our opinions...
...and voting for Parliament. That's what we fought Hitler for.
Have you had much to do with politics yourself?
Not directly as such, no, particularly in these days.
Perhaps more so in the early 1 930s and just before the war.
My concern was more international affairs.
Or foreign policy, so to speak.
Not that I ever held high office, mind you.
No, any influence I exerted was in an unofficial capacity.
Excuse me, sir.
Have you ever met Mr. Churchill?
He came to the house occasionally. Again, in the early 1 930s.
He was a bloody warmonger!
Honestly, Harry! We wouldn't have won the war without him.
Not content to fight Germans, he sent troops in against the miners.
-What about the war? -Yes, all right.
He did well in the war, but he should've stepped down.
-And Mr. Eden? -He made a right bugger of Suez!
Yes, I met Mr. Eden. Yes, occasionally.
How do you do? Richard Carlisle.
Rotten luck about your car, but nice to have you.
-Everyone has been most kind. -He says he knows foreign affairs.
Is that so, indeed?
In an unofficial capacity.
-He knows Mr. Churchill. -And Mr. Eden.
Really?
Yes, well, it was my good fortune to have consorted...
...with many men of influence from Europe and from America.
Mr. Taylor...
...l really feel I ought to retire now because I'm feeling rather tired.
No wonder, sir. Running out of petrol...
...then having to hear Smith's political opinions.
Just step this way, sir.
I'm going to Stanbury in the morning. I'll give you a lift...
...and we could pick up a can of petrol on the way.
-I'd hate to inconvenience you. -Not at all. Would 7:30 suit you?
You'll enjoy talking to Dr. Carlisle. Watch this step.
Excuse Harry Smith.
He will go on about his politics. I don't mean he's not right.
Democracy is why we fought Hitler, and we lost a few lads in this village...
...including our son here.
Dunkirk.
I'll get you a blanket.
I've left a razor and soap on the basin.
Listen to the opinions of your man in the street.
They're perfectly entitled to give an opinion...
...on politics or whatever questions--
They've got no qualifications!
Of course they have!
Mr. Spencer would like a word with you.
My good man, I have a question for you.
Do you suppose the debt situation regarding America...
...factors significantly in the present low levels of trade?
Or is this a red herring...
...and the abandonment of the gold standard is the cause of the problem?
I'm sorry, sir, but I am unable to be of assistance in this matter.
Oh, dear. What a pity.
Perhaps you'd help us on another matter.
Do you think...
...Europe's currency problem would be alleviated by an arms agreement...
...between the French and the Bolsheviks?
I'm sorry, sir, but I'm unable to be of assistance in this matter.
Very well, that'll be all.
One moment, Darlington, I have another question to put to our good man here.
My good fellow...
...do you share our opinion...
...that M. Daladier's recent speech on North Africa...
...was simply a ruse...
...to scupper the nationalist fringe of his own domestic party?
I'm sorry, sir. I am unable to help in any of these matters.
You see, our good man here is " unable to assist us in these matters."
Yet we still go along with the notion...
...that this nation's decisions be left to our good man here...
...and a few millions like him.
You may as well ask the Mothers' Union to organize a war campaign.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
You certainly proved your point.
-Q.E.D., I think. -No, not at all!
Oh, yes, he has!
What did you make of the citizens of Moscombe? Not a bad bunch.
No, sir.
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were extremely kind.
I say, I hope you don't think me very rude...
...but you aren't a manservant of some sort, are you?
Yes, sir. I am, indeed.
In fact, I'm the butler of Darlington Hall, near Oxford.
It wasn't my intention to deceive anyone.
Don't explain. I can see how it happened.
Darlington.
Wasn't there a Lord Darlington involved...
...in that appeasement business that got us into the war?
Sorry, I never knew that Lord Darlington.
My employer's an American gentleman, Mr. Lewis.
Lord Darlington was among those who tried to make a deal with Hitler.
Then there was a case after the war...
...where he sued a newspaper for libel.
The Express, was it? News Chronicle?
-I couldn't say, sir. -Anyway, he lost.
He was lucky, really, not to have been tried for treason.
There it is, just ahead.
Sir, I must confess...
...that I failed to tell you the truth.
I did know Lord Darlington, and I can declare that he was a truly good man.
A gentleman through and through...
...to whom I'm proud to have given my best years of service.
That should get you to the next petrol station.
Thank you very much, sir. I'm most grateful.
But did you...
...share his opinions?
Who?
Lord Darlington.
I was his butler. I was there to serve him...
...not to agree or disagree.
You trusted him.
Yes, I did. Completely.
But at the end of his life, he himself admitted that he'd been...mistaken.
That he'd been too gullible, and he'd let himself be taken in.
I see.
Thank you, sir. You've been most kind.
Just keep going straight up here, and turn left at the first crossroads.
I say, I don't want to be a bore, but I'm intrigued.
Where do you stand on all that?
If a mistake was to be made, wouldn't you rather have made your own?
Forgive me for being so inquisitive.
Not at all, sir.
In a very small way, I did make my own mistake.
But I might have a chance to set mine right.
In fact, I'm on my way to try and do so now.
Try the ignition.
Thank you, sir. I'm most grateful for your help.
Good luck. It's been interesting talking to you.
Good morning.
Lord Halifax was impressed with the silver.
I told him it was all your doing. Sent his compliments. Well done.
I've been meaning to ask you....
That business last year about the Jewish maids...
...I suppose there's no way of tracing them?
That would be difficult. I tried to get them a position in Surrey.
There was room only for one, and they didn't want to be separated.
Well, try anyway. One would like to do something for them.
It was wrong, what occurred.
I'm sorry about it. Very sorry.
-Good morning. -Good morning.
He asked about the Jewish girls.
-Elsa and lrma? -He wondered where they were.
He said it was wrong to dismiss them.
I remember you were as distressed as I was about it.
As you were?
You thought it was right and proper that they should be sent packing.
Now, really, that is most unfair.
Of course I was upset. Very much so.
I don't like that happening here.
I wish you'd told me. It would've helped me to know you felt as I did.
Why do you always have to hide what you feel?
Have you finished the lavender bags? Good.
All right.
I take my hat off to you.
That girl's come along very well. You were right and I was wrong.
-Look at that smile on your face. -What smile?
That tells a story in itself.
Wouldn't you say so?
What story's that?
She's a pretty girl, don't you think?
Is she?
You don't like pretty girls on the staff. I've noticed.
Might it be that our Mr. Stevens fears distraction?
Can it be that Mr. Stevens is flesh and blood and cannot trust himself?
You know what I'm doing?
I'm placing my thoughts elsewhere while you chatter away.
Why is that guilty smile still on your face?
Not guilty, simply amused by the nonsense you sometimes talk.
It is a guilty smile. You can't bear to look at her.
You didn't want her. She was too pretty.
You must be right.
You always are.
Charlie!
Lizzie, aren't you supposed to be turning down the beds?
Well, you better get on with it, then.
Have you told her yet? You better get on with it, then.
What can I say to her? She'd never understand.
-Why not? -She's old. She must be at least 30.
Perhaps she doesn't feel old.
Who do you think those flowers are for she's been picking?
Come here. Give us a kiss.
Flowers.
You're reading.
It's very dim. Can you see?
Yes, thank you.
What are you reading?
A book.
Yes, but what sort of book?
It's a book, Miss Kenton. A book.
What's the book?
Are you shy about your book?
What is it?
Is it racy?
Racy?
Are you reading a racy book?
Do you think racy books are to be found in His Lordship's shelves?
How would I know?
What is it?
Let me see it. Let me see your book.
Please leave me alone.
Why won't you show me your book?
This is my private time. You're invading it.
Is that so?
I'm invading your private time, am l?
What's in that book?
Come on, let me see.
Or are you protecting me? Is that what you're doing?
Would I be shocked?
Would it ruin my character?
Let me see it.
Oh, dear.
It's not scandalous at all.
It's just a sentimental old love story.
I read these books...
...any books...
...to develop my command and knowledge of the English language.
I read to further my education, Miss Kenton.
I really must ask you, please...
...not to disturb the few moments I have to myself.
Come in.
What is it?
I'm wanting to give you my notice, please.
Why?
Charlie and me, we're getting married.
Have you thought about this carefully?
Yes, Miss Kenton, I have.
You've been getting on well here and could have a fine career before you.
Charlie and me's getting married.
Charlie and l.
I wish I knew what to say to you.
I've seen this happen so many times.
A young girl rushing into marriage only to be disappointed in the end.
What about money?
We don't have any.
But who cares?
You'll find it's not easy to live poor.
We have each other.
That's all anyone can ever need.
Very well.
If you're so sure.
Thank you.
Good luck.
We did all we could for them.
I told him...
...l had my eye on him as a possible under-butler...
...in a year or so.
But, no, Mr. Charlie knows best.
She's sure to be let down.
No use crying over spilt milk.
Besides, we have far more important matters to discuss.
-Next week's meeting. Now-- -Must we discuss it tonight?
Sorry?
I'm tired.
I've had a busy day. Don't you realize that?
I'm very tired.
I'm very, very tired.
Don't you understand?
I owe you an apology. I thought...
...these quiet evening talks were useful to our work.
But now I see that they're a burden to you.
I was only saying I was tired tonight.
No, no. You're right.
Our meetings are a burden after a long day.
Perhaps we'd better discontinue them.
They're useful. It was only tonight.
I thank you for the cocoa.
In the future, we shall communicate only during the day.
If necessary, by written message.
I wish you a very good night.
I shall be taking my day off tomorrow.
I'll be back in the house by 9:30.
Certainly.
Good night.
I'm glad to be out of it, I can tell you.
There was something about Sir Geoffrey and his Black Shirts...
...gave me the creeps.
Mr. Stevens says we should run the house...
...and leave the rest where it belongs.
You don't agree, Mr. Benn.
Nor do l, really.
If I don't like something, I want to say "stuff it" ...
...if you'll pardon the expression, Miss Kenton.
But then I suppose I'm not a real professional, like Mr. Stevens.
It's Mr. Stevens' whole life.
Well, it's not mine.
And to tell you the truth...
...I don't want to go back in service.
-What would you do instead, Mr. Benn? -Tom's the name.
Tom.
What employment would you take up?
I'd really like to be on my own.
Start a little shop somewhere, newspapers and tobacco.
Or a boarding house in the west country, where I come from.
Clevedon's a good place for a boarding house.
Would I get you another shandy?
Well, it's almost 9:30....
Go on!
It's your day off, isn't it?
You're not in the army, due back in the barracks.
-All right, then. -Good.
Half a shandy, please.
What about yourself, then, Sarah?
That's a serious sort of a name.
They called me Sally when my mum was alive.
Sally. That's nice.
Is it your intention to remain in service?
It's a good profession, when you have a position.
-Mr. Stevens says we're fortunate-- -We're not talking about him.
We're talking about you.
Supposing...
...someone asked if you'd like to come in on a boarding house by the sea?
What would you say?
Well, I don't know.
It's a theoretical question, so I haven't given it any thought...
-...Mr. Benn. -Tom.
Supposing it wasn't theoretical...
...Sally?
It's been years since I've been called that. It feels funny.
Nice, though?
It's very late.
Will there be anything else?
What?
-Thank you. Good night. -Good night, my lord.
Mr. Cardinal, good evening.
-How are you? -Very well.
-Delighted. And your wife? -Very well too, sir.
-How are you? -Very well, sir.
I've gone and got myself in a bit of a mess with arrangements.
Would His Lordship put me up?
I'll tell him you're here.
I hope there's nothing special tonight.
His Lordship expects some gentlemen after dinner.
I'll keep my head down, then. I've got to write my column anyway.
-You're in time for dinner, if you like. -I hoped I would be.
How is my godfather? Fit?
Very well. Some refreshment?
Thank you. Some whisky would be lovely.
-Who's he expecting tonight? -I am unable to help you there.
What, no idea?
No idea at all, sir.
-I'll keep my head down all the same. -I think it's a good idea, sir.
Come in.
Mr. Cardinal has just arrived, out of the blue.
He'll expect his usual room.
-I'll see to it before I leave. -You're going out?
I am indeed.
It's Thursday.
Of course. I'd forgotten. Sorry.
Is something the matter?
Some visitors are arriving, but it doesn't involve you.
We agreed that Thursday is my day off...
...but if you need me urgently--
No, it's perfectly all right. Thank you.
I have something to tell you.
My friend...
...the man I'm meeting, Mr. Benn.
Mr. Benn. Of course. Yes.
He has asked me to marry him.
I am thinking about it.
I see.
He's moving to the west country next month.
I'm still thinking about it.
I thought you should be informed of the situation.
Yes, thank you.
That's most kind of you.
I trust you'll have a most pleasant evening.
Is there something special tonight?
Are your visitors special?
Can't tell you, my boy. Strictly confidential.
-So I can't sit in on it? -On what?
-Whatever it is that's taking place. -Absolutely not.
Can't have someone like you sticking your nose in. A journalist.
What do you call it, a " newshound"?
No, it wouldn't do at all.
Once you've had your food, you'd better make yourself scarce.
It sounds pretty special to me.
Good evening, prime minister.
-Sorry, we've been delayed. -I understand.
Lord Halifax.
-Very nice to see you. -This is Mr. Fraser.
Good evening, Your Excellency.
Please wait here, Your Excellency. I'll inform His Lordship.
We don't intend to involve the whole British Empire in a war...
...simply because of a quarrel in a faraway country...
...between people of whom we know nothing.
To my mind, the whole of Czechoslovakia...
...isn't worth a single one of our own young men.
We have a small, noisy and corrupt war group here...
...who don't realize that you Germans are marching into your own back yard.
The Führer is a man of peace to the depth of his soul...
...but he won't allow a small second-rate country...
...to thumb its nose at the 1 000-year German Reich.
I'll get it.
Come on, wake up!
Stay awake!
Could you confirm that this lady is on the staff here?
Yes, of course. She's the housekeeper.
Thank you, sir.
-May I? -Of course.
Sorry to have alarmed you.
Just security, miss.
I trust you've had a pleasant evening.
Well, did you have a pleasant evening?
-Yes, thank you. -Good.
Would you like to know what took place?
I have to return upstairs.
There are important events taking place tonight.
When are there not?
I accepted his proposal.
I accepted Mr. Benn's proposal of marriage.
My congratulations.
I am prepared to serve out my notice.
But if you'd release me earlier, I'd be grateful.
Mr. Benn is planning to leave for the west country in two weeks.
I'll do my best.
Now, please excuse me.
After all the years I have been here, you have nothing else to say?
You have my warmest congratulations.
You've been a very important figure...
...for Mr. Benn and me.
Oh, in what way?
I tell him all sorts of things about you.
I tell him stories about you. About your habits.
About your mannerisms.
He finds it very funny, especially when I show him how...
...you pinch your nose when you put pepper on your food.
That always has us in stitches.
Does it, indeed?
Well, please...
...excuse me, Miss Kenton.
Good night.
Thanks.
We've been friends a long time, haven't we?
I always look forward to a chat when I come here.
Would you care to join me in a drink?
That's most kind of you, but no, thank you.
You all right?
I'm perfectly all right.
Not feeling unwell, are you?
A little tired, perhaps.
I bet you're tired. What is it, about 1 :00?
Come on.
I want you to sit down.
Well, sir, I really--
I didn't come here by accident.
You know that.
I had a tip-off, you see...
...about what's going on now in the library.
I wish you'd sit down. I'm your friend...
...and you're holding that tray as if you're about to wander off!
Now, come on. Sit down, damn it!
That's better.
Now, look, I don't suppose the prime minister is in the library, is he?
Prime minister, sir?
In the library-- You don't have to confirm it--
--are our prime minister, our foreign secretary and the German ambassador.
-Any idea what they're talking about? -I'm afraid not.
Tell me, Stevens, don't you care at all?
Aren't you in the least bit curious?
It's not my place to be curious about such matters.
Not your place.
And supposing I told you that His Lordship...
...is trying to persuade the prime minister...
...to enter into a pact with that bunch of criminals in Berlin?
I'm certain His Lordship is acting from the highest and noblest motives.
Don't you see? That's exactly what makes it so abominable!
Twisting these high and noble motives to their own foul ends!
You do, please, realize that His Lordship's been the most...
...valuable pawn that the Nazis have in this country...
...precisely because he is good and honourable?
If I weren't so drunk, I could make you understand!
Sir...
...l do understand.
His Lordship is working to ensure peace in our time.
Peace in our time on their beastly terms!
Remember that American here at the conference?
Called Lord Darlington an amateur, out of his depth?
Well, he was right.
He was dead right.
I hardly have to tell you how I feel towards His Lordship.
I care about him deeply, and I know you do too.
Yes, I do indeed.
Then aren't you desperate to see him make this mistake?
He's being tricked! Don't you see? Or are you as deluded as he is?
Oh, dear. Now I've probably offended you.
No. Not at all, sir.
Not at all.
You must excuse me.
There are other gentlemen calling for me, sir.
You mustn't take anything I said to heart.
I was very foolish a little while ago.
I haven't taken anything you said to heart.
In fact, I can hardly recall anything you did say.
I was just being very foolish.
I simply haven't time to stand here with you, engaging in idle talk.
I suggest you go to bed now. You must be very tired.
Good night.
Oh, damn it!
Blast!
I'd been wanting to tell you....
It's the small alcove outside the breakfast room.
It's the new girl, of course...
...but I find it has not been dusted in some time.
I'll see to it.
Thank you.
I knew you would have wanted to be informed.
Hello, Sally.
Hi, Tom.
You all right, then?
How are you?
I'm good.
Could we talk for a moment, please? Just for a moment.
We'll have to be quick because I'm going out.
It won't take long.
All right, then. We'll have to go into the lounge.
Afternoon.
Nice little place, isn't it?
The sort of quiet little boarding house I had in mind for us.
Like other things, it didn't work out.
What did you want to say?
I saw Catherine yesterday. She had some interesting news.
She's expecting.
Oh, my goodness!
She wants us both over for tea on Sunday.
I could come and get you.
We could go together on the bus.
Yes, well, we'll see about that.
House is that empty without you.
I can't tell you.
You cut yourself shaving.
Oh, yeah. I know.
Can't seem to do anything right these days.
I so often think of the good old days...
... when I was housekeeper at Darlington Hall.
Those years with you were the happiest of my life.
Would you like more tea?
Yes, please. Thank you.
Miss Kenton. I'm sorry, Mrs. Benn.
-Sorry, I was delayed. -That's all right.
Please sit down.
-I've ordered some fresh tea. -Lovely.
Would you like some cake?
-Sure? -All right. It's a special occasion.
Good.
Waitress?
-Could we have some cake? -Yes, of course.
-It's been a long time. -Yes, indeed.
You haven't changed at all.
A little, perhaps.
We've all changed, I think.
I'd have known you anywhere.
How long's it been? Twenty years?
Yes, just over, I think.
The tea should be along.
We read about the suit for libel.
It's a shame...
...calling His Lordship a traitor. Those papers will print anything.
They should have lost the case.
When His Lordship went to court...
...he sincerely expected he would get justice.
lnstead, the newspaper increased its circulation, and His Lordship's...
...good name was destroyed forever.
Afterwards, in his last years, well...
...quite honestly, Mrs. Benn...
...his heart was broken.
I'd take him tea in the library, and he'd be sitting there...
...and he wouldn't even see me, so deep was he in his own thoughts.
And he'd be talking to himself, as though he was arguing with someone.
There was no one, of course.
No one came to see him anymore.
What about his godson, young Mr. Cardinal?
Mr. Cardinal was killed in the war. Waitress.
May I have my bill, please?
I'm very sorry.
I know you remember Darlington Hall in its best days...
...and that's how His Lordship deserves to be remembered.
But perhaps the good days are back, now that Mr. Lewis is here...
...and Mrs. Lewis is arriving shortly.
Very fortunate to have you running the house.
We still have problems, Miss Kenton. I'm sorry. Mrs. Benn.
-We still have staff problems. -You mentioned it in your letter.
Frankly, I've been thinking of going back in service.
Good--
But now the situation has changed for me.
If I take up any work, it will have to be...
...here in the west country...
...because Catherine, our daughter, is expecting a baby.
So I would like to be near her.
Of course.
And to be near our grandchild as he grows up.
-Naturally. -Or her, if it's a little girl.
When I left Darlington Hall, all those years ago...
...l never realized I was really, truly leaving.
I believe I thought of it as simply another ruse...
...to annoy you.
It was a shock to come out here and find myself actually married.
For a long time, I was...
...very unhappy.
But then Catherine was born, the years went by and one day...
...l realized I loved my husband.
You see, there is no one...
...no one in the world who needs me as much as he does.
But still there are times...
...when I think I made a terrible mistake with my life.
I'm sure we all have these thoughts...
...from time to time.
People always cheer when they turn the lights on in the evening.
I wonder why.
They do say...
...that for many people, the evening's the best part of the day.
The part they most look forward to.
Is that so?
What do you most look forward to?
Getting back to Darlington Hall, principally...
...and straightening out our staff problems.
You were always able to do that.
And you had quite a few to straighten out, as I remember.
Always was work, work and more work...
...and will continue to be so, I have no doubt.
Mr. Stevens, don't you wait! That bus is always late.
Come in out of the wet.
You must take good care of yourself.
-You too, promise me that. -Oh, yes, I promise.
Do all you can to make these years happy for yourself and your husband.
We may never meet again, Mrs. Benn.
That is why I am being personal, if you will forgive me.
Thank you, Mr. Stevens.
Oh, here it comes. It's on time for once.
Thank you. And thank you so very much for coming.
It was so very kind of you.
It was so nice to see you.
It was a pleasure to see you again. Goodbye.
Take care.
You scared me. Where'd you come from?
You like the suit?
Very good, sir.
Good.
Watch the chandelier there.
You're really getting things going here. This is wonderful!
I've had to ask another three girls from the village to come up.
And I can promise you that the house will be ready...
...and in shape by the time Mrs. Lewis arrives.
That sounds good.
I'm expecting a possible new housekeeper this afternoon.
A Mrs. Ruth Muspratt.
Excellent references. She was matron at a boys' school in Sussex.
A matron?
Sounds like she'll keep us from misbehaving.
-I certainly hope so, sir. -Good.
Good, Stevens. Very good.
This is where we had that banquet back in '35. Remember?
We all stood up and delivered ourselves of our principles.
God knows what I said. Sure got worked up about it, though.
What did I say, anyway?
I'm sorry, sir, I was too busy serving...
...to listen to the speeches.
We got a visitor here.
Be very careful.
Come here. That's a boy. Come on.
Okay. Easy does it.
Come on!
You don't want to startle it.
It'll come down.
I think if we leave the window open....
Good.
Very still.
Go on. Out! Come on. Out!
Well done.
Well done, sir.